


Getting back the planet we oncek new

by InsecureMorty



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Original Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-27
Updated: 2017-05-27
Packaged: 2018-11-04 17:29:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10995573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsecureMorty/pseuds/InsecureMorty
Summary: A heartfelt beginning to the movement to create a change.





	Getting back the planet we oncek new

 

Getting Back The Planet We Once Knew

 

 

 

[Told in Frankie’s POV]

When walking down the street, only one thing came to the citizens of this tiny blue planet’s

mind, “Our world is dying.” Everyone had known it for a great number of years now. Pollution was one of the most prominent problems we face and yet there are some who still deny it’s effects on our planet. With how fast things were getting out of hand, humans didn’t stand a chance of surviving the next one thousand years, let alone the next five hundred. Everything was heating up, even the ice caps of the north and south poles- causing the waters to rise and many countries to be submerged. Wars were breaking out due to the displaced people having to move inland and the amount of drinkable water was getting declining.

[Part 2]

I was walking down the road with my friend. Astrid. The two of us go way back- practically friends since birth. Our eyes couldn’t help but wonder to the murky water from many years of dumping garbage, toxic chemicals, and oil into it. I couldn’t help the pang of disappointment I felt as I remembered all of the postcards and photographs that remained online from years ago. A once so beautiful ocean on the west coast with  clear blue glistening water and colorful fish was now toppled with waste that nearly blocked the the view in some parts- but as previously mentioned, there wasn’t much of one anymore. Our world had become a wasteland.

 

 

[Part Three]

“I can hardly believe this place is the same place where my grandfather proposed to my grandmother…” Astrid replied, staring at the background of his phone. He had always seemed to keep it close to his heart since the two of them had passed away.

“Same here.” I replied back, “The people who lived before us just left this huge mess here and nothing has been done about it.” The mood had dropped to something somber. No one had to look at us to see it, the frown was clear in our voices. “All I want is to see the sun shine- to be able to sit on the beach with my toes in the sand and not having to worry about dying from pollution poisoning.” I said, glancing up towards the brownish clouds. My eyes wandered back to Astrid as he coughed into his arm. It worried me- knowing that everyone was dying sooner and sooner and me or Astrid could be the ones to get sick next. It wasn’t fair that we were so young and yet we couldn’t just relax and enjoy ourselves like what was the quote unquote ‘Normal’ back when our grandparents and before did when they were growing up.

 

 

[Part Four]

Me and Astrid often took walks near the beach but with all of the disgusting smog and garbage, most tended to stay away. Sewer systems were often backed up and we had to be careful of the areas we traversed. We’d spend whole days just wondering during the summer in the disgusting and smelly heat, talking about how beautiful things could have been in the past and often repeating the phrase ‘If only.’. Astrid always found a way to lighten the mood if it got too dark though. We couldn’t forget some things we saw on particularly bad days. The homeless here was in the worst state they had ever been and stumbling across fly and maggot infested corpses now and then only made the experience worse.

Some school days would be canceled due to the smell or the heat. Many people wore specially made masks to try to keep themselves safe. New diseases were rampant as well. When we did these things, we were often fixed with  stern gazes- but we couldn’t handle the life indoors even with the dangers out of them. More than a couple times we were  summoned to the principal's office for our excavations. They never put it  delicately \- saying how we needed to stay away from such places. We always brushed it off and they couldn’t truly do anything about it since there were no real laws preventing us from doing these things.

 

[Part Five]

One afternoon, I was running up the steps to Astrids house- out of breath but I wouldn’t stop now. “A PROTEST!” The excitement was clear in my voice. “Astrid, there’s going to be a protest, right here in L.A!” It took me a moment to notice how pale his face was in color compared to usual. Dark bags hung under his eyes. He gave me a sheepish smile- of course he was going to play it off as if there was nothing wrong. I could tell from the look in his eyes. He was sick.

“That’s great.” Astrid replied, leaning the doorway of his home. “Are you really sure it’s going to make a difference though? It never did before…”

“No! I’m sure of it. The media is buzzing about it and there are already thousands expected to show up.” I sat down on his porch swing and he soon joined me, the corners of his lips turned up slightly. I was still waiting to bring up his fevered look but before I got a chance to, he had put it right out of my mind.

“So, we’re going then?”

[Part Six]

It was the day before the protest that things had taken a turn for the worse- for me anyways. I was sitting quietly on the chair next to the hospital bed, my eyes scanning the body I had formally come to know as the best thing that I had never known. Astrid had been sick. Apparent for awhile now and he had hidden it so well he could have won an Oscar for Worlds Best Actor. The thoughts flooded my mind, and the tears ran down my cheeks.

First the denial. Sure, he looked a little pale over the past couple of days but he really couldn’t have been that bad, could he? He wasn’t dead. There was no way he was dead. This couldn’t be real.

It was real though.

I wanted to blame myself. For hours it circled in my mind that I had seen the signs and if only I had payed just a bit more attention he could have gotten help. The coughing fits, the sickly pale skin, and the dark bags under his eyes. He had always been thin, but had he even lost weight? The grief seemed to circle between denial and self blame until finally it hit me.

My sadness melted into boiling red hot anger. This wasn’t my fault. This. This was the fault of the people who had ruled this world before us. For every politician that had gone in front of the camera on TV and said ‘Climate change doesn’t exist’ or that it wasn’t a pressing issue. My friend was dead because of everyone who had turned a blind eye or pushed the notion that this was not happening whether to comfort themselves or to make big bucks in the fossil fuel industry.

I sat there for awhile longer before a nurse came in and told me it was time to go. I wiped my eyes before snapping a photograph of his lifeless corpse and leaving the hospital.

[Part Seven]

That night I got online, sitting in my bed with my laptop on my lap. I needed to become a part of this movement. I needed to work quickly and decisively because at this point I felt so helpless. I looked through my Facebook contacts. My uncle was a journalist- surely he had someone I could get someone to help me get this story out there.

After a long night of work it was finally ready. I had written up my own story and how the earth’s man made changes was affecting me personally as well as my late best friend. At the end I put the  eerily dark and incredibly sad picture of Astrid lying in the bed- the last moment I was able to see him. I submitted it to my uncle telling him that I didn’t need this out there just for my own sake but for the better of the world. If maybe it could just touch someone.

 

[Part Eight]

I only got a few short hours of rest that night, and now the preparations would begin. I grabbed a piece of cardboard I tore from a box and wrote in big black letters. ‘Ask me my story.’ I knew all of this would just stir up my pain for the loss that I had experienced the day before, but I had this overwhelming feeling that it had to be done. I dressed up in the outfit me and Astrid had picked out together and took a deep breath before calling my uncle to tell him that I was ready for the protest. I was dressed in a beautiful and colorful flowery dress- it honestly wasn’t my style but Astrid had said it was perfect.

 

[Part Nine]

While I was waiting, I stared into the hallway mirror, another wave of emotions washing over me as I thought about the empty spot beside me where Astrid should have been fixing his suit. I took a deep breath and walked out with the blear of a car horn. The sign was held firmly in my hands as I got inside the car and buckled up.

“You don’t have to do this.” My uncle began, causing me to look over. Before I could say something back, he cut me off, “Have you checked your phone yet? It’s everywhere.”

“What’s everywhere?” I questioned as he started up his vehicle that spit more smog into the sky as it drove towards our destination.

“You are.” He replied, passing me his own phone. I scrolled through the things he had up. More people were talking about it. Hundreds of links to other articles and thousands of tweets and messages left. There were even some from big news companies who said they wanted to interview me. Tears rolled down my cheeks as we came to a stop a blocks away from the protest. There wouldn’t be a parking space any closer to this. I had him pull over and I slowly climbed out of the car. I rubbed my eyes free from the flowing tears and stood up straight, starting to walk.

[Part Ten]

I didn’t get far. It started with a simple old woman.

“Hello dear.” The woman greeted in a soft grandmotherly tone. “Oh, I can see it in your eyes that you have been through a lot.” She gave me a pitying smile and walked with me as we neared the event. It wasn’t long until more began to approach.

I didn’t have any lines. I had to pull out words with everything I had to satisfy the curiosity of the spectators  attending . I felt almost like a prophet. My hands were shaking as I held up my sign and soon enough I was pushed up to the front of the crowd and to a large stage.

 

[Part Eleven]

A man in a black tux stood on stage and looked down over at me. He was the leader of this protest as well as something like a modern day Martin Luther King- speaking out and raising his voice to the masses. He walked off left stage and right over to me.

“Wow, you’re so young.” He replied with an expression that could only been worn by a man who had been worn down a hard life. “Will you do me a favor? I would like you to get up on that stage and speak to these people.”

There were enough people around to make my head spin and so many cameras I nearly wanted to go hide, but as I looked over at his outstretched hand I took it and allowed him to lead me up the stage and in front of the microphone.

I took a deep breath.

[Part Twelve]

Everyone had seemed to quiet down as I took my place in front of the microphone. I cleared my throat anxiously but the man gave my shoulder a squeeze and took my sign as he stepped back. All eyes were on me and mine were watering.

“Hello. My name is Frankie. I am fifteen years old and I grew up right here in L.A.” There were a couple cheers but it didn’t take long for the crowd to hush down again, “Now, I haven’t been around all that long but I have known people who have been. People who had lived when this planet was more green than brown and the water was so beautiful and bright that it reflected light. Now that light has been snuffed out by years and years of destruction. The destruction of our home- our only home. A part of it started with our forty-fifth president. He de-funded the organizations that had been put in place to keep not only us safe, but our planet as well. He replaced the scientists with people who had things to gain from being in a place of control for monetary interests and not for the people who had no choice in the matter of the world they would be living in later. My name is Frankie and last night my best friend died of pollution poisoning.” I choked on my words but I didn’t stop speaking. “I had to known him my entire life and we had known how bad this world was getting- and I just couldn’t have known how swiftly this could take away everything I had. So now, here I am, I’m pleading with all of you to push hard against all of the  faithless people who are taking away our futures and the futures of all of us to come.”

I stopped suddenly as I choked on my own tears, covering my mouth. There was silence for a moment then the crowd began cheering in support. I’d never been good in front of a large group of people but now all I could feel was the love and hope of the people around me. I felt the courage and determination build up inside me.

The man who had invited me up on stage gently nudged me over and patted my shoulder. “Come on everyone, you’ve now heard the voice of someone who has been truly torn apart by the destruction of our supposed to be green earth and I’m sure there are many more who have been effected in large ways. We all need to stand together to make this change.”

 

[Part Thirteen]

Things seemed to move so quickly after that day. I was invited onto talk shows and debate forms. I could feel myself growing and changing as a person the more I spoke and the better I was able to formulate my thoughts in ways that other people could get it too. The whole world seemed to be following suit. Of course my own country was a bit slow and stubborn to follow suit as it seemed to be with all things but the politicians had to adapt with the growing demand and changing views. Others began speaking up as well at a never before seen pace.

Astrid was gone and there was nothing I could do about that- but I could try my hardest to work in his memory. It was like he was with me every day filling me with hope and strength. I came home every day to update my new blog and upload photos of the improvements that needed to be made and the things that were actually getting done about it. 

 

 

[Part Fourteen]

One Friday evening my cell phone rang. I was invited onto a popular show that had been around for a great many years. Saturday Night Live. It was watched by thousands and this is when I knew I was really going somewhere with this. The next morning I was driven out to the studio and explained the procedure. Later that night I was sitting in a chair next to one of the most watched people in America. My hair was done and I was well dressed and yet my confidence wasn’t as high as I would have hoped. I looked down at the picture of me and Astrid that I had set as my background and straightened up.

The response was even more amazing than at the protest. I was aloud to speak freely and by this time I was more than well versed on the issues. I left that night with the talk show host more than a little impressed.

 

[Part Fifteen]

It had been ten years since I had stood up on that stage, morning powerfully at the loss of my best friend. The world was finally looking up and everyone who had banded together was proud at the drastic change in environment. The planet was on it’s way to flourishing once again. Sure, it wasn’t completely there yet but it seemed now that everyone was playing their part. Kids in schools were being taught how to sort their garbage and recycle and a lot of companies had switched to clean energy and products. I had a boyfriend now and he understood me and was more than willing to go with me to leave flowers on Astrid's grave. Murmuring about how much we had done and that I couldn’t have done it without him. It would still take a great amount of effort and time, but within the next fifty years it would be once again safe to play on the beach without the risk of stepping on something that would make anyone terribly sick.

 

[Part Sixteen]

Of course there was some push back. The corporations who didn’t want to lose profit was trying everything they could to hold on to what they had. Some went out of business and others were forced into changing their ways. The price of electric cars went down and the creation of solar panels the average person could afford were everywhere. A battery was created that could store the power taken from the harvested sunlight and soon there would be enough energy for the whole world to go around.

 

[Part Seventeen]

Another ten years had passed and I was married with a beautiful baby girl. I had a job with my own television show and I was often inviting scientists on to keep the word out there. This planet wasn’t fixed yet and we needed to keep our minds actively on it so there was no way it could revert back to the disgusting mess it had been. The new president actually cared about what was going on and was always working to put more funds into the science community. I had him on my show several times and it took me awhile to realize- this is that same man who had invited me on stage all that time ago. I had never even known his name.

 

 

[Part Eighteen]

Over the years, my mind kept wandering back to how all of this could have been prevented. My friend might have still been alive today if only the world had taken action earlier. There were things that couldn’t be completely fixed like the ice caps that had built up over thousands of years so many were still lost to their own homes but people were getting more and more accepting, inviting in the refugees that they had before tried to push off and sometimes even viciously murder.

I am proud to say that I could have been a part of this movement, but the pain of all of the loss of life on this planet still stuck with me and I used it wisely to empower others to take a stand when need be.  Though even with that, my life could have turned out much differently if there had been action taken much earlier. I wouldn’t trade my husband and daughter now for anything in the world but I can’t stop imagining how good me and Astrid would have been together.

 

[Part Nineteen]

Twelve years later and here I am with my daughter, running around the beach of L.A. Smiles on our faces. The sun shown brightly and the water was safe enough to swim. The ocean life was growing and I couldn’t help but yelp every time a fish brushed my feet.

I could feel it in my heart that this is how things should have been all along. Beauty and smiles. Every day was Earth Day and every day was more allowance for new chances and new life. Sure, there would always be some kind of struggle, but now it seemed that the most important one was under control. Our planet was thriving.

[Part Twenty]

I was sixty when I was diagnosed with cancer. The years I had spent in my youth with all of the pollution had caught up to me. I was now the author of so many books and I had very few regrets about my life- though I knew if I could go back in time to the days before I was even born and start this movement earlier, I would have. I was surrounded with love ones and friends I had made along the way and though my mind was a bit foggy, I couldn’t help but smiling. I knew now that the world would get better moving forward and my child and my child’s children would would be able to have the life the people of my generation had missed out on before the great movement. I left this world holding two hands- My husband’s and my daughters and even with all the tears shed, I knew they were proud of me. Just as I drifted off, I was sure I saw the  specter of Astrid, standing there and giving me his usual dorky smile. Just as he used to.

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think bellow!


End file.
